Grounded by honest, appealing, heartrending performances from Emily Mortimer
and Jack McElhone, "Dear Frankie," a bittersweet film about a single
mother and her deaf son, never tips over into the maudlin. Harried,
protective mom Lizzie (Mortimer) wants nothing but the best for
9-year-old Frankie (McElhone), as the two move from town to town. In
addition to his mother's love, there's another constant in Frankie's life:
He regularly writes letters to his absent father, and relishes the missives
that come in response. Believing that his father works aboard a cargo ship,
Frankie tracks the vessel's progress around the world. But his mother
fabricated the story of a seafaring dad. In fact, Lizzie writes all of those
letters to her son and signs his father's name. After Lizzie and Frankie
relocate to a Scottish seaside town, the boy learns that what he presumes to
be his dad's ship will dock there in a couple of weeks. Lizzie must decide
whether she should tell her son the truth about his father, or try to find a
stranger to play Frankie's dad while the ship is in port. Seeking to hire a
father-for-the-day, Lizzie turns to her friend Marie, who vouches for one of
the seamen on shore leave. Played by a handsome, soulful Gerard Butler ("The
Phantom of the Opera"), the sailor could be the perfect husband and father.
And Lizzie's plan could easily backfire. Although manipulative, "Dear
Frankie" doesn't feel false; it earns its tears and laughter.